A few comments about oil shale (rock that is mined etc, as distinct from shale oil being extracted in the US).
Here in Tasmania we have a known, proven deposit of very high quality oil shale.
It is right next to a river so water for processing is not a problem.
It is also very near a rail line and suitable road.
There is plenty of power available, with high voltage lines within walking distance and a number of hydro-electric plants nearby.
It is within commuting distance of a significant town and port (Devonport). Oil could easily be shipped to refineries in Victoria, or exported overseas.
There are plenty of unemployed workers in the area, indeed lack of work has long been a problem. Many of these unemployed workers are "blue collar" having a background in now defunct heavy manufacturing industries.
Natural gas is also available if required from a nearby pipeline.
There is a nearby factory still operating, only 10km away, that is the largest non-electricity energy user in the state. Current fuel used is coal.
Surrounding land has nothing of value on it, and is not protected from development.
The oil shale has actually been mined and liquids extracted in the past, so it's a very proven resource.
So it's basically as good it gets so far as shale is concerned. It ticks all the boxes in every way and you'd be hard pressed to find a better spot to mine oil shale anywhere really.
But the harsh reality is that numerous companies, from large mining companies to exploration juniors, have had a look and all reached the same conclusions. The state government once had a look too, also reaching the same conclusion. And so did those who, back in the 1920's and 30's, actually mined shale and extracted oil until they went broke.
It's just not viable financially. When oil was at $20 it needed to be $25 to make shale worthwhile. Now it's at $100 and that's still not enough. Quite likely, we'll never get there.
As a source of liquid fuel - it can't produce petrol etc at anything approaching the current market price.
As a source of furnace fuel - not viable at the nearby factory without first extracting the oil due to the very high non-combustible portion of the shale. And if you're going to fire the kilns with oil then you may just as well buy it more cheaply rather than extract it from shale. Or just take the much cheaper route of using coal.
As a means of electricity generation it can be done, but again it's more costly than coal. Or gas. Or hydro. Or wind. Etc.
Over 150 years after it was discovered, 99%+ of this stuff is still in the ground and the trivial amount that was extracted was done at a financial loss and with considerable air pollution too (must have been pretty bad if it was causing concern back in the 1930's, a time when the environment just wasn't thought about usually). And everyone who has tried to revive the idea has walked away rather than blowing their money.
Now, if shale doesn't stack up in an "ideal" situation like this one then I very much doubt that it's going to stack up anywhere in the foreseeable future other than Estonia (by far the largest shale user in the world) burning raw shale in power stations. Maybe someone can make it work, but the idea that we'll be mining rocks and turning them into petrol doesn't seem too likely anytime soon.